[Non-PFS] Pathfinder 1-Shot

Game Master djpika

Samantha strikes out at the thing before her, her song continuing.

Raging song bonuses continue
Attack: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 4 + 2 = 24
Damage: 1d6 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 4 + 2 = 12

K-Religion (bardic k.): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21
Yay bardic Knowledge!

Atsushia reacts with a quick sling shot, hitting Morthak's attacker and setting up Lars for a crippling attack that finishes it off. Blackish ooze sprays a fine mist into the air before covering worn granite and marble.

Samantha follows suit, impaling the creature in front of her. Sickly entrails and foul ichor expunge from the wound as well as the sudden stench of sun-baked flesh. Weakened, the creature attempts to flee to the labyrinth of the mausoleums.

*provokes and AoO*

Ah, I see the forums did eat my note about having to make the will saves as you got closer. I'll let these attacks resolve and just have them made after engaging.

@the rest of the party, please make a will save DC 13 or see previous post RE: the shaken affect and from seeing the deformed and pallid creatures first hand.

Will: 1d20 ⇒ 6

Seeing the creatures Lars started to shake. "This isn't real! I have gone insane. We have gone insane?" He looked at his companions, wondering for the first time whether or not even they were real people...

Will save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

What.... what are those nightmarish creatures??

AoO: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 2 = 10

*moans quietly*

Samantha is unable to connect as the creature shifts tactics and turns to flee.

x2 double movement, out of visibility.

We can break out of rounds for the moment, unless you attempt to pursue. What does the group want to do?

Samantha ceases her song and crouches at Morthak's side, giving Lars but a glare at his absurd behavior.

Heal: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12
"Well he's not dead. Ghouls have a paralyzing effect when they strike you." she says. "LARS! Snap out of it!"

I'm so glad he's not dead!You seems to know much about these creatures, Samantha

She picks up the halfling, grunting with the effort as she shoulders him.

"My ma's a retired adventurer. Did a lot of stuff in Ustalav... She loved telling me stories when I was a little girl." she explains.

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If we are not chasing the other ghoul, Morthak should snap out of it in 3 rounds.

"Ughhhh... damned thing caught me off-guard."

"So we know there are undead prowling the graveyards. Let's see what they were after."

Morthak looks at the coffin they were carrying. Does it have chains around it? Does it look like the one we saw getting buried?
Anything moving inside it?

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13

Once Morthak starts moving, she sets him down. "Yeah, they're probably digging up their buddy... Ugh... It had to be ghouls." she groans, keeping an eye out to the outer ring of her darkvision, hoping to catch the ghoul if it tries to come back.

The coffin continues to rattle off in the distance, with loud thuds and the clanking of chains.

Know religion, untrained: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15

I don't know much about ghouls. Aren't they supposed to feed themselves on corpses? They seem to be quite intelligent, as one of them ran away, instead of standing its ground mindlessly.

"Yes, but their bites are diseased. You survive an attack, you can catch a disease that can kill you and turn you into a ghoul." Samantha replies, walking towards the coffin. "Sometimes people don't have ways of dealing with it other than burning the corpse. I don't see any bonfires in the town, so maybe they can't do that for some reason."

She glances back at Lars. "Lars! Snap out of it! We need your help."

Sam will go check on the coffin, hopefully with support from her party.

Lars halfheartedely follows Sams. It was easier to do what he was told than to make sense of their situation.

Atsushia comes closer from the coffin, but seems very afraid.

I never thought I would have to face one of these ungodly creatures, you know. I never wanted to study anything relating to necromancy, death, cadavers, this sort of stuff...

Morthak looks at the coffin.

"Maybe the guy in here turned into one of those ghouls? They could have been bringing him 'home' to their tribe or nest or whatever."

"Get your weapons ready. Let's crack this sucker open."

This was one command Lars was more than happy to follow. He raised his blade and readied an attack.

Samantha will make sure everyone else is ready before she sets about opening the coffin.

"All right. Ready?" she asks.

Sam smashes the chain with her sword, creating a spark of light in the night. Immediately after the wood splinters outward as what is presumably Jeremiah climbs out.

I'll allow everyone to make their readied action rolls to see if we need to go to the map/roll init.

I assume I spent my action opening the coffin, so I'd probably just step back to not get caught in the line of fire.

That's what I was thinking; I was expecting the rest to attack.

I would want to wait until I am sure he is undead.

knowledge (religion): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21 :)

You're able to identify the early signs of negative energy corruption. The eyes are rolled back and pale and a primal sense of mindless hunger drives the creature.

You're able to identify the early signs of negative energy corruption. The eyes are rolled back and pale and a primal sense of mindless hunger drives the creature.

Does this mean he is still alive and could be cured?

Nope, that's just fluff...

Well.. that doesn't seems good...

Is anyone going to attack? Guys?

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I'll assume I have set up on one side with Lars on the other, so I am flanking the corpse.

Morthak's dagger flashes in front of the creature's face, distracting it!

Aid another (Lars) +2 flank, -2 fighting defensively: 1d20 + 5 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (6) + 5 + 2 - 2 = 11

Lars: You now have a +4 to hit. My AC is now 19.

Hit with studied target, flank and aid: 1d20 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 4 + 1 + 2 + 2 = 20
Damage: 2d4 + 10 ⇒ (3, 2) + 10 = 15

As Lars brought his blade down he thought to himself Is this a ghoul? Ghouls are real. Am I the one who is losing it? The momentary indecision might have made his blow go wide. But with Morthak's distraction, his blow didn't need to be pretty. He just had to swing hard, something which he was still quite good at.

The combination of Lars and Morthak is able to take down the recently unearthed, as the fire of adrenaline contrasts the chill night air. The aluminum taste of fear lingers in the back of your throat.

Any additional actions?

Samantha will step back forward and examine the body.

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At last iit was quick... I feel so useless against undead. I don't think any of my spells can affect them. And I'm not a warrior either.

At last iit was quick... I feel so useless against undead. I don't think any of my spells can affect them. And I'm not a warrior either.

The next game day, instead of memorizing daze perhaps you should go with disrupt undead?

Looking at your character sheet though, you could have used your Protective Ward on us. You could also have cast resistance on us before we opened the casket.

Morthak also looks over the body. "I want to be sure there is nothing that causes him to revive again. If there is, it would explain why the villagers didn't do what we just did."

Can't get Disrupt undead, it's a necromancy spell, and Necromancy is one of my two forbidden schools, with Evocation. Atshushia was build as a defensive spellcaster (Abjuration specialist), and use non lethal spells

Can't get Disrupt undead, it's a necromancy spell, and Necromancy is one of my two forbidden schools, with Evocation. Atshushia was build as a defensive spellcaster (Abjuration specialist), and use non lethal spells

Unless you have some kind of weird archetype (like Thassilonian wizard), those schools are not actually forbidden, they are just opposition. Which means it takes 2 spell slots to memorize one of them. But it still might be worth it. However, you would need to get the spell into your spellbook somehow, since you don't start with it. Maybe we can find someone who would sell us a scroll.

Samantha will step back forward and examine the body.

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Jeremiah wears clothes in the same style of the villagers - earthen linens, heavily weathered. Nothing really stands out besides the obvious - the stench of death, decay, and the withered look of a body now that most of the fluids have drained out.

Note that Atsushia should have a wand found from earlier that is within her school choices.

Any bite wounds on the corpse? Anything that indicated cause of death?

Samantha grimaces and starts stripping the clothes off the corpse. "How did you die?" she asks aloud. "Were you bitten or did you get infected another way?"

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Profession Watchman: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15

Lars looked down at the corpse with a professional eye. While he was unlikely to know the medical reasons for death, he did have experience identifying whether a crime took place. The difference between a suicide and a murder often came down to signs of struggle and other such clues.

Neither Samantha or Lars finds any external signs of Trauma beyond the blade wounds. Knowing that, Lars can probably deduce that the death came sudden and may be due to illness, asphyxiation, or poison... something that wouldn't leave a mark. Additional investigation requires a heal check.

"Hm. No wounds."

"Perhaps one of those roving clouds killed him."

heal: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21

Morthak, to the best of his ability underneath the combination of magical and bluish silver moonlight, points out that the small hemorrhages broken from intravascular pressure near the eyes and scalp and the bluish tint are signs that asphyxiation or something that causes a lack of oxygen is probably to blame for the death.

"Hm. Suffocation? I wonder if the clouds we heard of could do that."

Morthak looks over the corpse to assure himself that it is not healing on its own.

Assuming it isn't:

"I think we've discovered what we wanted to know. Shall we put this fellow back where he belongs? And then disappear before the sun rises."

Lars shrugged. Ghouls were real. This was real. They had lost the trail of Trevol. He had thrown everything away in search of vengeance, which now seemed more distant than ever. But doing something was preferable to admitting defeat, and so long as he was with the group he could at least pretend that they were still on track.

If you're sure he doesn't pose a threat anymore...I think it would be better, after that, to keep a low profile.

Samantha will help put the body back in the coffin and into the ground. She will seem distracted the entire time, as she tries to think through decades of her mother's stories and remember what could do this.

"Let's just head back to our rooms after this and rest. We're going to need it if the town gets uppity about us 'helping' them." she says sternly. "Some of the more isolated places really dislike outsiders upsetting things, even if it's for the better."

"Hmm... you don't want to follow the tracks of the ghoul that ran away?"

"I already slept most of the night. Just got up earlier than usual."

"Then again, I am wounded. I probably shouldn't take too many risks until I heal up."

"Yeah, and I don't have much magic left. As unfortunate as it is, chasing the ghoul down may lead to ambush or worse." Samantha agrees.